Jovan Rašković ( sr-cyr, Јован Рашковић, ; 5 July 1929 – 28 July 1992) was a

Croatian Serb The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", хрватски Срби, hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in Croa ...

psychiatrist, academic and politician.

Early life

Rašković was born in

Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...

in 1929. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, after an Ustasha

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

which resulted in the deaths of his relatives, he was exiled to

Kistanje Kistanje ( hr, Kistanje, hr, sr-Cyrl, Кистање) is a village and municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. Geography Kistanje is located in the microregion of Bukovica, in Zagora. Kistanje is from county seat Šibenik, from Knin a ...

in Italian-occupied Dalmatia. He passed his secondary school exams in

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

, and graduated in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. He then studied electrical engineering and medicine at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

, where he obtained his diploma and a PhD from the university's medical school.

Career

In the 1960s, he served as director of Šibenik city hospital and later director of the medical center. He was one of the founders of the Medical Research Institute of Neurophysiology in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

. Rašković was a member of the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

, the Academy of Medical Sciences of Croatia and a number of psychiatry associations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was a university professor in Zagreb and Ljubljana and a visiting professor at the Universities of

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In February 1990, Rašković went into politics and founded and led the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), which took part in the first Croatian democratic elections. He noticed that there was no equivalent party in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

so he contacted

Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić ( sr-cyr, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, psychiatrist and poet. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tr ...

, a colleague, to suggest for him to establish one. Although the SDS won relatively few seats in the 1990 elections, it quickly began to increase its power, and Rašković was soon perceived as a leader of Serbs by

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...

and his new government. That led to direct negotiations between the two about the future of

Serbs in Croatia The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", хрватски Срби, hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in Croa ...

. During one meeting, Rašković remarked, "Serbs were crazy people". Tuđman's chief political advisor, Slaven Letica, had the words secretly taped and leaked the transcript to Croatian media to discredit Rašković among his people and then replace him with someone more acceptable to

Croatian government The Government of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Hrvatske), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government ( hr, hrvatska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government ...

. That backfired, as instead of rejecting Rašković, many Serbs lost any trust in Croatian government and embraced extremism and then

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

. Later in 1990, Rašković was removed from power by "more radical, hard-line Serb nationalists", who went on to create the

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...

. Rašković retired from politics in 1991, after the

Plitvice Lakes incident The Plitvice Lakes incident ( hr, Krvavi Uskrs na Plitvicama or ''Plitvički krvavi Uskrs'', both translating as "Plitvice Bloody Easter") was an armed clash at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence. It was fought between Croatian po ...

Death and legacy

Rašković died in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on 28 July 1992 at the age of 63. He is interred in the

Alley of Distinguished Citizens The New Cemetery ( sr, Ново гробље, ''Novo groblje'') is a cemetery complex in Belgrade, Serbia, with a distinct history. It is located in Ruzveltova street in Zvezdara municipality. The cemetery was built in 1886 as the third Christia ...

in the

Belgrade New Cemetery The New Cemetery ( sr, Ново гробље, ''Novo groblje'') is a cemetery complex in Belgrade, Serbia, with a distinct history. It is located in Ruzveltova street in Zvezdara municipality. The cemetery was built in 1886 as the third Christia ...

. Streets in

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of Trebišnjica river in the re ...

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

and

Novi Banovci Novi Banovci () is a settlement in Serbia by the Danube River. It is situated in the Stara Pazova municipality, in the Srem District, in Vojvodina province. It is located 5 kilometers away from Batajnica and 20 km from the capital, Belgrade. ...

are named in his honor.

References

External links

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raskovic, Jovan 1929 births 1992 deaths Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts People from Knin Serbs of Croatia Serb Democratic Party (Croatia) politicians Serbian psychiatrists Serbian anti-communists Yugoslav politicians Politicians of the Croatian War of Independence School of Medicine, University of Zagreb alumni Yugoslav physicians Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery Serbian nationalists